Lopez assures RP of 3rd medal; Suarez falters

MANILA, Philippines - Wilfredo Lopez overwhelmed Jordanian Mutaz Don Duk and essayed a second round stoppage to assure Team RP of its third medal in the China Open in Guiyang, Guizhou Province, China Thursday.

Lopez clobbered Duk with powerful combinations and had built a 5-0 lead when the referee stepped in and ended the bout at 1:24 of the second round of their quarterfinal duel in the welterweight division.

Now assured of a bronze, Lopez goes for a berth in the final when he battles Arisnoidys Despaigne of Cuba Friday.

Also shooting for the championship berths are bantamweight Aston Francis Palicte and light flyweight Gerson Nietes.

Palicte, who also scored a third-round stoppage of Hong Kong’s Cho Cheng Yu in the quarterfinals, squares off with Mirzhan Rakhimzhanov of Kazakhstan while Nietes meets another Kazakh in Idyaz Sulay-Minov.

But while the troika remained in the gold medal hunt, top bet featherweight Charly Suarez dropped a 5-2 decision to European circuit veteran Dmitry Polyansky of Russia while flyweight Rey Saludar also bowed to 2008 Olympic gold medalist Zou Shimming, 10-0.

Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines (ABAP) president Ricky Vargas and secretary-general Patrick Gregorio were scheduled to arrive Thursday in China to provide support to the team and personally assess the performances of the fighters.